Player #122A: Samuel F. "Sam" West. Outfielder with the Washington Senators in 1927-1932 and 1938-1941. 1,838 hits and 75 home runs in 16 MLB seasons. 4-time All-Star. His career OBP was .371. In 1931 for Washington he posted an OBP of .369 with 91 RBIs in 559 plate appearances. In 1934 for the St. Louis Browns he posted an OBP of .403 with 91 runs scored in 554 plate appearances. His last season was 1942 with the Chicago White Sox.
West's SABR biography gets us started: Playing the last month of the 1925 campaign for the (Birmingham) Barons (of the Southern Association), West hit .265 in 24 games. In 1926 he burned up the league, and played so well that the caught the eye of the Washington Senators’ super-scout, Joe Engel. Convinced that West would prove to be the center fielder of the future for Washington, Engel began to arrange for his purchase. His scouting report noted West to be a good hitter but, surprisingly, a poor fielder. Engel would have been surprised to know that this prospect would become one of the best defensive center fielders in major-league history. . . .
The Senators were not discouraged (as West recovered from a fractured scull caused by a HBP). On August 13 (1926) they arranged for the purchase of his contract for $10,000. The team instructed him to remain in Texas until he had fully recovered.
West was well enough to report to the Senators’ spring-training camp at Tampa, Florida, in 1927. The rookie was assigned to back up all-time great Tris Speaker, but he did not mind. “Tris Speaker, he helped me more than anybody I guess,” West recalled. “I worked with him every day.” (Speaker, who had been player-manager of the Cleveland Indians, had joined the Senators after being cleared, along with Ty Cobb, by Judge Kenesaw M. Landis in a gambling scandal. Landis had reinstated Speaker with Cleveland, but the Indians allowed him to make a deal for himself.) . . .
In 1929 pitching great Walter Johnson became the new Washington manager, and that was fine with West. “Oh, he was a fine, fine, fellow,” West later said of Johnson. “One of the finest fellows I ever met.”
In spring training Johnson made it no secret that he liked his center fielder. “I am particularly sweet on West because he was so many good points,” Johnson said. “He is as fast as lightning. He has one of the best throwing arms in baseball, and I know he will be a good hitter once he gets his stride. And above all, he has a good attitude. He is always out there hustling and giving it his all.” We'll return here the next time we see West.
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